Investigation Reveals Chase Center Shooting Appears Falsely Reported

An investigation into a November 30th shooting has determined that the incident did not occur at the Chase Center as initially reported by the victim.

An investigation began on November 30th at 2:39 a.m. when a 33 year old male victim driving a vehicle flagged down a patrol officer in area of West 4th and North Van Buren Streets. He reported to the officer that he had just been shot near the Chase Center and was searching for a hospital. He was escorted to Wilmington Hospital and treated for minor gunshot wounds.
Wilmington Police began a thorough investigation by conducting witness interviews, executing search warrants, and reviewing surveillance footage. The results of this investigation indicate that the shooting did not occur in the area of the Chase Center as initially reported.

Officers responding to the area of the Chase Center were unable to locate a scene. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage and found no evidence that the incident occurred there. Furthermore, nine officers hired by the event hosted at the Chase Center were patrolling the parking lot on foot at the alleged time of the incident and did not report gunfire.

“We have a duty to thoroughly investigate any alleged shooting incident, and lacking any physical evidence our starting point is where the victim claims the incident occurred. Despite the victim’s claim, officers did not find evidence of a shooting and no witnesses have come forward to corroborate his story,” said Corporal Mark Ivey.

A search warrant executed on the victim’s vehicle recovered $116,000 in cash which was seized. Detectives continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the transport of that quantity of currency.

Charges against the victim for falsely reporting an incident are pending the final outcome of the investigation.